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Biochemical profiling of phenolic compounds in lentil seed

Lentil is a self-pollinating annual cool season legume with seed coat colours that can be clear, green, tan, gray, brown, or black. The seed coat is a good source for phenolic compounds, which can have health benefits such as anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-heart disease properties.

Two independent loci in lentil (Ggc and Tgc) determine the basic seed coat colours (brown, gray, tan, green) through the expression of the two alleles at each locus. Part of this project is dedicated to determining if phenolic profiles of different lentil colours are characteristic of specific genetic combinations of these two loci. It has been found that the relationships between seed longevity and colour are influenced by phenolic compounds. Knowing the types of compounds associated with seed longevity during long-term storage may provide strategies for breeding lentils that can be stored for longer amounts of time without much change in the colour of the seed coat.

This project will also use phenolic profiling to compare the profiles of zero-tannin lentil seeds with shut down Tgc gene – because of the tan gene- and normal seeds in which this gene is functioning properly, enabling an understanding of the genes responsible for phenolic production of the pathway involving the Tgc gene. A fast extraction and an optimized liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis will be designed for analyzing different groups of phenolic compounds. After optimization of the method, an analysis will be made of the phenolic compound profile of the seed of a series of lentil genotypes with defined seed coat background colour based on genetic analysis. This could help to determine how Tgc, Ggc, tan affect phenolic compounds production. Also, storage effect on phenolic compounds profile will be monitored.

Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular techniques. ... [more]

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is an important pulse crop with annual production of 3-4 Mt across 70 countries (Cubero et al. 2009. DOI 10.1079/9781845934873.0000; pg. 13). Lentils are a good source of protein, carbohydrates, micronutrients and vitamins for human nutrition and is consumed in more than 120 countries. Furthermore, their small seed size and flat shape make them relatively quick cooking and easily decorticated compared to most other grain legumes (Sharpe et al. 2013. BMC Genomics. DOI 10.1186/1471-2164-14-192). The Lentil plant has a bushy growth habit with a height of about 40 cm; the seeds are lens-shaped and usually grow two per pod. ... [more]

Lens ervoides is a wild relative of Lens culinaris with semi-hastate or lanceolate stipules. L. ervoides can be distinguished from other wild Lentil species by its smaller leaves, calyx teath, pods and seeds1. L. ervoides is often found in shady or partially shady niches, such as among bushes or under trees, with stony soils1. Unlike other wild lentil species, L. ervoides is rarely found in mixed stands with other wild lentils1. Recent sequence analysis indicates that Lens ervoides is in the tertiary gene pool of L. culinaris2 ... [more]

Lens nigricans is a wild relative of Lens culinaris. L. nigricans has stipules that are considerably semi-hastate and dentate at their base1. This species can be divided into two groups based on the orientation of their stipules. Those accessions with upright stipules are usually found in gravelly soil in southern Spain, southern Italy and along the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia, as well as in man-made habitats throughout southern Europe; whereas, those accessions with horizontal stipules were found on calcereous or basaltic soil in stony and gravelly habitats in Israel and Turkey1. Recent sequence analysis indicates that Lens nigricans is in the quaternary gene pool of L. culinaris2 ... [more]

Lens odemensis is a wild relative of Lens culinaris with semi-hastate stipules which form horizontal positions on the stem1. Recent sequence analysis indicates that Lens odemensis is in the secondary gene pool of L. culinaris2. ... [more]

Lens orientalis is a wild relative of Lens culinaris with lanceolate stipules. The geographical distribution of Lens orientalis ranges from Turkey to Uzbekistan with a primary habitat of stony and gravelly niches where aggressive annuals are not successful1. Lens orientalis usually forms small disjunct populations containing a small number of plants in sparse stands1. More extensive populations of L. orientalis were found at high elevations (800 to 2,000 m)1. Recent sequence analysis indicates that Lens orientalis is in the primary gene pool of L. culinaris2 ... [more]

Lens tomentosus is a wild relative of Lens culinaris. Morphologically, L. tomentosus most resembles L. orientalis although it can be distinguished as having a hairy pod2. Recent sequence analysis indicates that Lens orientalis is in the primary gene pool of L. culinaris2. ... [more]